Electric room heater



P 1948- v H. H.OETJEN 4, 2,4

ELECTRIC ROOM HEATER Filed June 11, 1945 INVENTOR.

Patented Apr. 20., 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC ROOM HEATER I Howard H. Oetjen, Chicago, vIll., assignor to Chicago Electric Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application June 11, 1945,. Serial No. 598,864

4 Claims. 1

The presentinvention relates to electric room heaters, and more particularly to such heaters which utilize both radiation and convection.

Heretofore it has been recognized that it may be desirable to provide a room heater of the portable electric heater type which not only provides heat by radiation, but also by convection. Such devices have numerous advantages, and are also somewhat safer since they do not produce a concentrated hot spot beam due to focusing of heat by a parabolic reflector. Portable electric room heaters employing both radiation and convection have heretofore been used, but the prior constructions have encountered certain objectionable psychological reactions from the users. In the past an electric fan has been provided to force air past the electric heating element so that heated air is blown into the room or in the direction in which heat is to be supplied. The reaction on the part of the users is one which is probably derived from the common association between a source of light, particularly red and orange light with the sensation of heat. It has been found that where air is blown directly across the heating element of a portable room heater, the elements oftentimes are maintained at black heat or at a dull red heat with the result that the user complains as to the improper functioning of the heater. In other instances the absence of red color normally attributed to open wire electric heating elements causes the user to assume that the heater is not functioning.

It, therefore, appears desirable to provide a portable electric room heater utilizing a fan wherein the open wire electric heating element is not subjected to the direct air blast from the fan so that the heating element produces the customary glow and heat radiation associated with electric heaters which do not have fans. In accordance with the present invention this is accomplished by providing a baffie adjacent the electric heater so as to substantially prevent air from impinging upon the electric heater wires. Such an arrangement provides direct radiation and convection without the undesired psychological reaction of the user.

It, therefore, is an object of the present invention to provide an improved electric room heater having a fan which will overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved portable electric room heater having a fan wherein air from the fan does not impinge upon the electric heating ele ment.

Other .and further objects of the present invention subsequently will become apparent by referenoe to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of an electric heater constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical cross sectional view substantially through the central axis of the heater; and

Figure 3 is a horizontal cross sectional view substantially through the central axis of the heating element and fan.

Referring to the drawing it will be seen that there has been shown a portable electric room heater having an outer casing H! which maybe provided with a base 52 and which is arranged for portability by a suitable handle E4. The front of the casing ii! is provided with a suitable aperture it which may be protected by an outwardly extending grill orscreen l3. Behind the screen [8 is arranged an open wire electric heating element 23 which is provided with a reflecting baffle 24 located a short distance in back of the heating element.

The outer casing It. for simplification in construction may be made up of a plurality of parts such as the central portion 26 which is provided with the endportions 23 and 31 The end portions 28 and 38 of the casing Iii may be suitably secured to the central portion 26 by any manner including spot welding. The top portion of the casing I'll may be secured to the base 12 in any suitable manner including turned over projecting tabs 32, as may be seen from Figure 2. 'The casing ll] adjacent its rear is provided with an opening 34 through which air maybe supplied to the enclosed electric fan The opening 3 at the rear of the casing It! is protected by a suitable grill or screen 38 retained in position by a retaining ring 49. The ring 49 is retained in position by suitable cap screws or bolts 43 best shown in Figure 3.

The front of the casing I!) which is provided with the convex protective screen Hi is so arranged that the screen IB is sufiiciently removed from the heating element 29 as to preclude all possibility of the screen it from becoming dangerously hot. The screen It is retained in position by suitable retaining means 42 comprising an outwardly pressed ring so that the periphery of the screen I8 may be positioned therein and retained in position by the outer flange of a casing 44 which is secured in position by a plurality of bolts or screws 48. The casing 44 3 has been shown in the drawing as comprising a cylindrical member having open ends and supporting therein a heater, a reflector and a fan.

The heater consists of an open wire heating element which preferably is of the helical coiled wire type strung between a plurality of insulating supports 48 provided adjacent the top and bottom of the casing 44 adjacent the central aperture 16 of the housing [0. The insulating supports 48 extend inwardly into the casing 44 a distance such that only a small portion of heating element is exposed to direct impingement of the air supplied by the electric fan 36. To control the amount of air coming in direct contact with the electric heating element 20, there is provided a-concave reflector 24 which is pro-v vided with a plurality of supports or brackets 59 secured in position by suitable fastening means such as bolts and nuts 53. The concave reflector 24 has an outer diameter less than the inner diameter of the casing 44 so as to leave an open space about its periphery for the egress of the air supplied by the fan 36. The fan 36 is supported on the shaft of an electric motor 52 which is secured to a transverse support member 56 extending across the back end of the casing 44.

The heater is provided within the housing withan electrical connection block 58 to which are connected the motor leads 50 and the heater leads 52. The electric terminals on the block 58 are connected to a suitable electric cord 6 which as is customary is provided with a connector plug for insertion into a wall socket.

In operation the insertion of the electric plug connected to the cord 64 into a wall socket supplies electrical energy to the motor 52 of the fan and energy to electric heater element 28. The fan directs air from the intake opening 3 3 in the housing against the back of the reflector 24 which absorbs some heat from the reflector and continues outwardly about the outer periphery of the reflector. As the air continues to move outwardly toward the screen 18 it comes in direct contact with the end portions of the heating elements 29, and thus the air is additionally heated for room distribution. Thus, substantially all of the electric heater 2!] is brought to cherry red incandescence to produce direct, radiation from reflected heat within the cylinder of air moving outwardly from the heater casing. Therefore, the electric heater produces heating both by radiation and convection without encountering any objection from the user due to the heretofore mentioned psychological reaction. The structure shown is relatively simple and economical to manufacture, and yet is reliable, safe, and readily portable.

' While for the purpose of illustrating and dia scribing the present invention, a single embodiment has been shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that the invention is not tobe limited thereby since such variations in the components employed and in their arrangement are contemplated as may be commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention set forth in the following claims. I

This invention is hereby claimed as follows:

-1. An'electric room heater including a generally cylindrical casing having open ends, a heating element supported within one end of said casing and having longitudinal sections posi- 4 tioned in a plane substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of said casing, an electric fan supported adjacent the other end of said casing, and a concave reflector of smaller diameter than said casing and having its periphery in spaced relation to said casing between said fan and said heater, said fan being adapted to direct air across the extremities of the longitudinal sections of said heating element in the vicinity of the periphery of said reflector.

2. An electric room heater including a casing having a circular opening, the portion of said casing surrounding the opening being disposed substantially in a common plane, an electric heating element extending across the opening in said casingv and supported in a, plane substantially parallel to said first plane, a circular concave reflector'oi smaller dimension than the openin of said housing and having its outer margin in spaced relation to said housing and behind said heating element, said heating element having portions extending beyond the outer margin of said reflector, and an electric fan mounted within said casing so as to direct air past the outer margin of said reflector in the vicinity of the portions of said heating element which extend beyond said margin.

3. An electric room heater including a housing having opposed open end portions, an electric heating element having longitudinal sections supported substantially in a plane across one of said open end portions, a fan mounted in said housing, and a reflector mounted with its periphery in spaced relation to said casing, said reflector being positioned between said heating element and said fan, the area between the periphery of said reflector and said housing providing an annular passage for conducting air from said fan across the exposed .portions of the longitudinal sections of said heating element.

4. An electric room heater including a housing having an opening at one side thereof, the portion of said casing surrounding the opening being disposed substantially in a common plane, an electric heating element having longitudinal sections extending across one opening of said casing and supported in a plane substantially parallel to said first plane, a reflector positioned in said housing and behind said heating element, said reflector being of smaller diameter than said opening and having its periphery in spaced relation to said housing, and an electric fan mounted so as to direct air past the periphery of said reflector, said heating element having portions which protrude outwardly beyond the periphery of said reflector.

' HOWARD H. OETJEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

